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Telco regulators from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance have pledged to work more closely with one another to counter cyberattacks targeting telco infrastructure.

Representatives from the group – comprised of Australia's Department of Affairs; Canada's Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) department; New Zealand's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC); UK watchdog Ofcom; and the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – gathered in London to hammer out a list of commitments.

First and foremost, they plan to meet often – at least once a year, in fact.

This will help them maintain the spirit of cooperation by facilitating ongoing information exchange regarding global security challenges, emerging threats, mitigation strategies, and regulatory developments. And if the odd round of golf should get played during some downtime, where's the harm in that, eh?

They will also enhance cooperation on network reliability, integrity and security, including efforts to prevent exploitation and misuse of telecom resources such as the Global Titles routing protocol, all the while recognising differing national contexts. This one seems to be a more long-winded way of stating the original pledge.

The commitment also covers information sharing on threats like SMS blasters – devices that mimic cell towers to send phishing messages to multiple handsets at once – and the growing use of AI in telecommunications.

Finally, the group will also promote best practices, including the promotion of relevant international standards, and collaboration on supply chain security for telco infrastructure, including subsea cables and RF devices.

"This partnership reflects our collective resolve to deter malicious actors, exchange and promote best practices, as well as safeguard the integrity of our communications infrastructure," the group said in a joint statement. "It recognises that we have increasingly interconnected markets and face global threats, including those from malign and state- actors. Additionally, it recognises the importance of exploring harmonisation opportunities and coordinated regulatory approaches to reduce regulatory friction, ensure secure and resilient networks, and support consumer confidence in telecommunications services."

Although the regulators don't specifically reference the Salt Typhoon attack, their commitment is clearly part of the response to it.

It has been more than a year since reports first emerged of the sophisticated hack that compromised US telco networks. Various piecemeal efforts to bolt the stable door and identify the culprits have followed in its wake.

It doesn't seem to have had much effect. By October of this year , a report by Nokia revealed that nearly two thirds of operators worldwide have been targeted by similar attacks.

As worthy as this latest coordinated effort is, the big challenge is the sheer number of moving parts to it.

At the pointy end there is the telecoms industry itself – the operators, hardware and software vendors, IT suppliers, and of course cybersecurity companies – that have the day-to-day job of guarding against cyber threats.

Overseeing it all are not just the above-mentioned telco regulators, but intelligence agencies. For example, the FCC may have been in London for this meeting, but the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), NSA and FBI also have skin in the game.

Similarly the UK has its own National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand undoubtedly have their various layer of bureaucracy too.

Gathering and distilling all this information and turning it into something useful will be a tall order – but it might just be Five Eyes' best chance of mitigating these threats.

Nick is a freelancer who has covered the global telecoms industry for more than 15 years. Areas of expertise include operator strategies; M&As; and emerging technologies, among others. As a freelancer, Nick has contributed news and features for many well-known industry publications. Before that, he wrote daily news and regular features as deputy editor of Total Telecom. He has a first-class honours degree in journalism from the University of Westminster.